Were you sparked at all about the debate over nuclearization? Want to
hear from a former U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commissioner who changed
United States nuclear policy as we know it?! Come to Namaste Lounge at
College 9 tomorrow NOVEMBER 17 at 3:30-5 to hear Peter Bradford's "The
Myths of a Nuclear Revival." Professor Bradford is visiting from afar
so this is a once in a life time opportunity! Hope to see you there!
As
for this week's fact, water. I know that I discussed a little about
water a while ago, but I want to delve into more specific information
and how YOU can get involved!
90% OF THE WORLD'S WATER SUPPLY
GOES TO AGRICULTURE! In the United States, 70% of our water supply goes
to agriculture. This water is not just used to satisfy the plants'
thirst, but also to the power needed to move water across vast
distances and in industrial settings. Why is so much water used?! It is
because we are manipulating the environment to grow what doesn't
naturally grow, thus causing excessive water use and most often harmful
chemicals such as pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, etc.
Domestic
use of water is so "insignificant" compared to the amount used for
agriculture, but it's really important to be conscience of your use! 45
minute showers?! WHO NEEDS THOSE! THAT'S JUST PLAIN CRAZY TALK!
Most
of our water supply, and by most, I mean the VAST MAJORITY of our water
supply comes from snow. In a glass of water 80% comes from snow. Why is
this important? It's because the snow pack is getting smaller and
smaller as the effects of global climate change is taking it's course.
The snow pack on the Sierra's has already decreased 15%-20%! Less snow
also means more warming! Part of the problem with less snow is the fact
that 8000 years ago, nearly 15 billion acres of forest covered the
earth. Today, forests coever only about eight-and-a-half billion acres.
This creates change in the climate which decreases snow which increases
temperatures which decreases snow, and you get the point.
Our
water supply is constantly being contaminated by oil companies, brake
dust, exhaust fumes, run-off, people dumping you name it's, etc. etc.
This creates change in the ecosystem within water supplies as well. As
one animal dies off from contamination from a harmful toxin like
copper, ones that feed off of it dies as well.
These are some articles about how to prevent excessive water usage at home and how to prevent water contamination:
Come watch Wild Ocean with an old cell phone to recycle.
What:A FREE screening of Wild Ocean
When: Monday, November 16th
Where: Wellman 2
Time: 1st showing at 7pm, 2nd showing at 8:30pm
In conjunction with UC Davis Entertainment Council, Nokia, and Giant
Screen Films, R4 Recycling is proud to present in celebration of America Recycles Day,
the film Wild Ocean. R4 will be collecting old cell phones that you would like to recycle. Every person who brings in a cell phone to recycle will be
entered in a raffle for a chance to win prize from Nokia!
California state law prohibits throwing away
most consumer electronic devices with a circuit board. These items
contain lead, mercury, copper, and other metals that leach into the
soil polluting groundwater, streams, and wildlife.
If you are not able to make it to this event, but have cell phones
you need to recycle, feel free to drop off your cell phones, and any
other small electronic devices, at any of our Multibins located through out campus.
Bring an old cell phone and enter to win a prize!
UC DAVIS LEADS BIRD RESCUE IN SAN FRANCISCO OIL SPILL
University of California, Davis
October 30, 2009
UC Davis wildlife experts are on the scene of an oil spill today in
San Francisco Bay.
UC Davis veterinarian Michael Ziccardi, an international authority on
the rescue and treatment of oiled wildlife, said staffers from the UC
Davis Wildlife Health Center and its partner organizations are in
boats at the Dubai Star oil spill to assess the situation and collect
any oiled birds they find.
If oiled birds are eventually captured, they will be taken either to
Oiled Wildlife Care Network member organizations in the San Francisco
Bay Area or to a customized rescue trailer -- a traveling emergency
room that can be towed from Davis to the spill command post. There,
veterinary staffers will assess their condition and give them first
aid.
The Oiled Wildlife Care Network is managed statewide by the UC Davis
Wildlife Health Center, a unit of the UC Davis School of Veterinary
Medicine.
Once assessed, the birds will be taken to the San Francisco Bay Oiled
Wildlife Care and Education Center in Fairfield, where they will
receive the world's most advanced veterinary care for oiled wildlife.
At the center, the first order of business is not to remove oil from
the birds. Instead, it is to warm the birds and nourish them. Once
stabilized, they will be better able to withstand the stresses of
being washed.
The Fairfield center is a 12,000-square-foot, $2.7 million facility
capable of caring for up to 1,000 sick birds. It is the major
Northern California rescue center in the statewide Oiled Wildlife
Care Network, which comprises 12 rescue facilities and 25
organizations prepared to care for oiled wildlife on short notice.
Because of an algae bloom earlier this month off the Oregon coast,
the Fairfield center already houses 450 sick birds being cared for by
the International Bird Rescue Research Center. Ziccardi said,
however, that it can handle whatever oiled birds are affected during
this spill and if needed, he will send the Oregon birds to sister
facilities elsewhere in California.
At each California rescue center, UC Davis wildlife veterinarians
work in partnership with local, trained wildlife rehabilitators. At
the Fairfield center, those rehabilitators are staff members of the
International Bird Rescue Research Center, Lindsay Wildlife Museum,
WildCare and the Department of Fish and Game.
At this time, on Friday morning, a corps of trained volunteers is
standing by to staff the rescue center, if needed.
Jonna Mazet, another UC Davis veterinarian and oiled-bird expert, has
estimated that for every oiled seabird that is found washed ashore,
an estimated 10 to 100 birds died at sea.
The Oiled Wildlife Care Network is managed statewide by the UC Davis
Wildlife Health Center, a unit of the UC Davis School of Veterinary
Medicine.
The Oiled Wildlife Care Network is funded by the California Office of
Spill Prevention and Response, a unit of the Department of Fish and
Game. The Fish and Game monies come from interest on the $50 million
California Oil Spill Response Trust Fund, built from assessments on
the oil industry.
The mission of the Oiled Wildlife Care Network is to ensure that
wildlife exposed to petroleum products receive the best possible
capture and care by ensuring a rapid response, coordinating effective
emergency care in a spill crisis and administering an ongoing
research program.
In addition to giving veterinary care, the network conducts and funds
basic research into the effects of oil on wildlife and applied
research into treatments that will improve survival.
Amazing Pictures, Pollution in China
October 21st, 2009 by Key
October 14, 2009, the 30th
annual awards ceremony of the W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund took place
at the Asia Society in New York City. Lu Guang (卢广) from People’s
Republic of China won the $30,000 W. Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic
Photography for his documentary project “Pollution in China.”
To see the pictures and read the rest of the article, click here.
News 